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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26500843">I Will Always Love You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamdonnapaulsen/pseuds/iamdonnapaulsen'>iamdonnapaulsen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gilmore Girls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:48:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,422</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26500843</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamdonnapaulsen/pseuds/iamdonnapaulsen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What would've happened if, after Lorelai's serenade, Luke had gone after her in episode 7x20 (Lorelai? Lorelai?).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Luke Danes &amp; Lorelai Gilmore, Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore, lorelai - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I Will Always Love You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>- Honey, it's another embarrassing moment for your diary – Lorelai says, looking at Rory. – Uh-oh – she puts her glass down and turns back to her daughter. – Happy graduation.</p><p>Rory smiles from the crowd, happy to see her mom singing.</p><p><em>- If I should stay, I would only be in your way</em>… - Lorelai starts.</p><p>- She’s a Whitney fan? – Lane asks.</p><p>- Oh, I think it's Dolly-inspired – Rory replies, chuckling.</p><p>- <em>But I know I'll think of you each step of the way; and I will always love you</em>… - Lorelai continues to belt out and the crowd cheers and applauds.</p><p>- She's all right! – Miss Patty exclaims.</p><p>- The kid's stealing our thunder! – Babette comments.</p><p>- <em>I will always love you</em> – Lorelai keeps singing to Rory. At that moment, her eyes catch a movement in the entrance of the saloon, and she sees Luke entering the place, heading to the bar. She gets nervous and tries to not look at him; nonetheless, she locks eyes with him. – <em>Bittersweet memories, that's all I'm taking with me.</em><em> So goodbye, please don’t cry, we both know I'm not what you need, and I will always love you, I will always love you.</em></p><p>She shrugs a little bit as she sings, realizing the truth in the words she’s chanting. Luke also keeps his eyes locked into Lorelai, smiling at her, too caught in the moment to perceive the commotion installed around them, with people looking from him to Lorelai.</p><p>- <em>I hope life treats you kind, and I hope you have all you dreamed of, and I wish you joy and happiness, but above all, I wish you love</em> – Lorelai is smiling, her eyes misty. Luke nods as if in recognition of what she’s saying. – <em>And I will always love you, I will always love you, I will always love you</em> – Lorelai shrugs again as if to say ‘well that’s it’. She realizes everyone is watching her serenade and runs out of the stage.</p>
<hr/><p>Luke turns to his beer, not quite sure of what’s just happened. Was that some sort of love declaration, or was he reading too much into it? Probably she was just being guided by a truckload of tequila and the lyrics of that sappy song he wouldn’t be able to get out of his head anytime soon.</p><p>He looks around the bar, kind of expecting to see her back on the table with Rory and Lane and Zach, the song already forgot by now. However, she’s not there, and he sees Rory also looking around for her mom. Lorelai doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the saloon.</p><p>He weights about what to do for a moment; then, he drinks up the rest of the beer and heads out the K.C. to try and find Lorelai. He just <em>needs</em> to know.</p><p>As soon as he reaches the street, he sees her in the corner, crossed arms, looking up to the sky.</p><p>- Hey – he says, walking slowly towards her.</p>
<hr/><p>As soon as she sings the last note and sees Luke nodding his head, Lorelai notices what she’s done. Feeling a little embarrassed – and knowing the feeling would be worse in the morning, with no alcohol left in her system – she runs away from the bar, her head spinning, her heart racing.</p><p>Of course, she still has feelings for Luke. He is the only man she’d really loved her whole life. She just wasn’t expecting to let her feelings out like that, especially in front of the whole town.</p><p>Lorelai realizes that everything that has happened in the last few days – they apologizing to each other, the weirdness of their first encounters, bickering at each other while trying to figure out how to go back to being friends, and he using again the cap she’d given him – moved her way more than she’d initially thought. She crosses her arms, looking up into the sky, trying to organize her thoughts and feelings. Then she hears Luke’s familiar voice.</p><p>- Hey.</p>
<hr/><p>- Hey, you – she puts a smile in her face, turning to him. Lorelai notices he’s walking slowly, like he wasn’t sure if he should approach her or not. Did he come to find her? Or he wasn’t expecting to have company?</p><p>- So… - he starts, unsure about how to introduce the subject, how to ask what he wants to know. He decides to go for a more secure path. – April called me today. She’s got into some sort of nerd camping, and she’ll just come for the last two weeks of the summer. We won’t be able to go on our boat trip.</p><p>- Luke, I’m so sorry – she replies, her heart sinking with the sadness in his voice. He was pretending everything was alright, but she knew Luke way too well for him to fool her. – I know how much this trip meant to you.</p><p>- Yeah, well… It is what it is, right? – He looks right into her eyes. – Maybe spending the summer here won’t be such a bad idea, after all.</p><p>Lorelai’s heart skips a beat. She isn’t quite sure how to respond because she doesn’t know if he’s saying something with the comment, or if she’s reading things into an innocent situation. When he approached her, she thought this conversation would take another course.</p><p>- No, I mean… – she hesitates. – You said she’s coming for two weeks, right?</p><p>- Yeah, yeah, we’re gonna take a little trip… somewhere.</p><p>- If you want, I can help you with that. I am a master of road trips. Ask Rory.</p><p>- I might take you up on that – he replies, smiling. – And about your summer plans?</p><p>- Rory and I are gonna hit the road too. Ride rollercoasters.</p><p>- Rollercoasters?</p><p>- You know, the thing they have in parks and carnivals where you enter a little train, and you go up and down in a railroad…</p><p>- I know what a rollercoaster is – Luke interrupts her. – Let me guess, you have been planning this since she was three.</p><p>- Four, actually – Lorelai grins, and she can’t help but think Luke <em>really</em> knows her. – We’ll do some research to know which are the best ones and go for it for as long as our stomachs can take it.</p><p>He nods, just like he wasn’t expecting anything different. A weird silence falls between them.</p><p>- Ahn… I guess I should… – she gestures to the K.C.</p><p>- Oh, of course, yes – Luke replies. – I think I’m gonna head home.</p><p>Lorelai nods but doesn’t move. She doesn’t want to go inside, to leave things sort of suspended like that, yet she doesn’t know what to do. She wonders if she’s missed her shot with Luke for good.</p><p>Luke stares at her, not wanting to leave either. He still isn’t sure if he has misread the whole situation and wonders if he should take the next step – and what would that be. He can’t just try and kiss her, can he?</p><p>- See you tomorrow? – he asks, and Lorelai nods, a smile trembling in her lips. Yet, none of them move.</p><p>- Luke?</p><p>- Yes? – he answers, his heart speeding again. She takes a deep breath before speaking.</p><p>- I’m really glad we talked that day at the maze. I… missed having you around – she lets out at once and closes her eyes for a moment.</p><p>- I… – Luke clears his throat. – I’m glad we talked, too – his voice is not much louder than a whisper.</p><p>- Well, you’re lucky I’m back in your life, you’d be lost without me. You <em>and</em> April both, because I’m totally saving your trip… again – she chuckles nervously, and her smile lights up something in him.</p><p>- Yes, I’d be – Luke replies, and, without thinking, he gives one step in her direction. She startles but doesn’t move.</p><p>She looks right into his eyes, and all their doubts are gone. He pulls her closer by the waist, and Lorelai entwines her arms around his neck.</p><p>- Just to be clear - he asks in a serious tone - you were serenading me, right?</p><p>Lorelai rolls her eyes but can't stop a smile.</p><p>- No, I was serenading Kirk.</p><p>It's Luke's turn to laugh. He leans to kiss her, soft at first, their desire intensifying the kiss as they try to compensate for all those months apart.</p><p>After a while, Lorelai breaks the kiss but doesn’t leave his embrace. Her eyes are sparkling, she has a huge smile on her face, and Luke thinks she’s never been more beautiful.</p><p>- Just so you know… - he starts to speak, and she raises an eyebrow. – I’ll always love you too.</p><p>Lorelai giggles, happy to be where she knows she belongs – in Luke’s arms.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Mandy: thank you so much for proposing this idea for me and believing I could write it (still not quite sure I did as well as you deserved it, but). For always helping and supporting me. Love you.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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